Philippe Petit is on a high, but if ever that statement required clarification, it's in his case.

This is the guy who stopped New York City in its tracks in 1974 when -- in what has been described as "the artistic crime of the century" -- he illegally made his way to the roof of the World Trade Center Twin Towers, strung a wire between the two, then danced across it for 45 minutes.

The high now being experienced by the French aerialist has nothing to do with literal altitude and everything to do with the satisfying critical acclaim being heaped upon "Man on Wire," the award-winning documentary (and potential Oscar nominee) recounting what he calls his 1974 "coup."

The film, directed by James Marsh, unspools Tuesday (Jan. 20) at 7 p.m. at the Contemporary Arts Center.

"I am very happy and proud of the success of that film, and it continues," Petit said last week by phone from New York, where he lives. "If we get the Oscar for best documentary, I, of course, will be very happy, but while awards and congratulations are very nice, it's not what I feed myself with."

What he feeds himself with, now as then, is wire-walking.

Since that headline-grabbing performance in 1974 -- a stunt that got him arrested, although charges were dropped in exchange for Petit agreeing to perform free for New York City school children -- he has tackled dozens of wire walks in similarly public places, never with a net. Between the towers of Notre Dame cathedral. Across the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Atop the Eiffel Tower. And, in 1975 -- just more than a year after his Twin Towers walk -- inside the Louisiana Superdome, setting a record for what was then the longest, highest indoor wire walk.

Petit had for years harbored a dream of turning his Twin Towers coup into a film. For "Man on Wire," Marsh granted him a degree of creative control. One of the earliest decisions: This was not to be a movie about the World Trade Center attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Petit was adamant, and Marsh agreed.

Philippe Petit, who performed in the Superdome just more than a year after her World Trade Center 'coup,' talks about his art in the film 'Man on Wire.' (Magnolia Pictures)Mike Scott, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

"He was going to tell a story in which the Twin Towers were going to be seen in their glory," Petit said in his French accent. "And in that film, that story, there is no room for the other story, which is the death of the Towers -- which is, by the way, inside of all of us. Everyone who comes to see the film about the wirewalker has in their head the other film, the film of the nightmare, so there was no need to mix them."

Judging by critical and audience reactions, it was a good idea.

"The reason why everyone loves this film, I think, is multiple and complex," Petit said. "It has to do with loving fairy tales and 'nothing is impossible' and me being who I am and what my story entails.

"I have heard a lot of testimony to that, people who come to see 'Man on Wire,' and they hardly want to see the film because they say, 'How can I see a film about the Twin Towers after what happened?' After they see the film, they come back to me or James (Marsh) and they say, 'Well, it's wonderful. This film has helped me realize that when you lose something, you should continue to live and put things in perspective, and it's great.' And that touches me very much."

Just as with his Twin Towers walk, Petit vividly remembers his Superdome stunt, performed while he was here with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

"I remember at night I secretly walked on the top of the Superdome, and there was a picture in The Times-Picayune at the time of me on the top of the Dome, kind of illegally."

Yeah. Kind of.

"I fell in love with the city instantly," he said. "I was living in the French Quarter -- I stayed a few weeks because the organization and rigging of the wire to do the performance was an immense undertaking. And I remember, when I put my wire inside the Superdome ... and performed to the music of the 'Bolero' of (Maurice) Ravel, it was a fabulous, fabulous feeling, to perform there and also to get to know a little bit that city."

'MAN ON WIRE'

What: A screening of the award-winning documentary (and Oscar hopeful) about French aerialist Philippe Petit's illegal 1974 high-wire act between the World Trade Center Twin Towers.

When: Tuesday (Jan. 20), 7:30 p.m.

Where: Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St.

Tickets: $8 general admission, $6 for CAC and New Orleans Film Society members.

Details: Visit the CAC in person or online at www.cacno.org, or call the box office at 504.528.3800.